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Rev. Dr. Bobby L. Love of MORE2 provided testimony to the commissioners in favor of Ban the Box

With testimony from MORE2 leaders, Commissioners of Kansas’s Wyandotte County have unanimously voted in favor of a “Ban the Box” ordinance that will prohibit criminal record check boxes from most city job applications.

Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas share one government structure, known as the Unified Government of Wyandotte County. The passage of Ban the Box applies both to Kansas City, KS (City) and Wyandotte County jobs. This is the third metro area municipal government that has passed Ban the Box; MORE2 won the first Ban the Box in Kansas City, Missouri in April 2013.

While background checks will still occur, this ordinance prevents the automatic disqualification of those with criminal histories, which is a discriminatory hiring practice according to advocates of the ordinance.

Reverend Dr. Bobby L. Love, a MORE2 leader who provided testimony to the commissioners in favor of Ban the Box, said that this issue goes beyond helping those individuals with criminal histories have a fair chance to work. “It’s an issue that affects congregations and can tear the relationships between people apart.” Banning criminal record check boxes can help with larger economic issues such as unemployment and family support, said Love.

Nationwide, thirteen states have statewide Ban the Box laws, and 30 states have at least one city with the law. With their Kansas victory in tow, MORE2 will expand their Ban the Box organizing into other cities.